Asus EAH3870X2 1GB Top Review

Introduction:

When we visited CES we caught a few glimpses of the 3870 X2 floating around in manufacturers' demo rigs. Since then, the anticipation has been killing me to see whether the 3870 X2 series can take away the graphics crown that Nvidia has been wearing for the past few years. The Asus EAH3870X2, as well as all of ATI's partners' boards, are made up of the marriage of two ATI RV 680 graphics processors attached to a single PCB. Using two processors on a single card is not a new idea, but this time around it is ATI and its partners taking a shot at making it work correctly. Since two of most things are better than one, will the 3870 X2 follow suit and provide the competition to Nvidia's dominance that ATI so desperately needs to be capable of having? Or will it fall just short of reaching the performance zone it should be playing in?

The Asus EAH3870X2 1GB TOP (Top Overclocking Performance) video card features core clocks of 825MHz, memory clocks of 900 and an Asus designed heatsink assembly that promises to be a step above the standard fare delivered by ATI. Another couple notes of difference to separate the Asus model from the crowd are the four - yes four - DVI ports as well as .8ns memory for some nice overclocking potential on the memory. Will a two GPU solution based on the RV680 GPU be the cure for the ATI blues?

We recently reviewed the ATI version of the 3870 X2 on an AMD platform to see how well the manufacturer's components performed as a platform. Now we are giving equal time to the competition to show what the other side of the fence is capable of. In this election year it just seems right!

Closer Look:

With the size of the box, the EAH3870X2 has got to be huge. The front panel highlights the the fact that the 3870 X2 has two GPUs. Some of the other highlighted features are that the EAH3870X2 has .8ns memory, four DVI outputs, HDMI connectivity and the inclusion of one of the newest DX10 games on the market, Company of Heroes: Opposing Fronts. The rear panel lists some of the exclusive features of the board, including Splendid, Gamer OSD, Video Security, and Smart Doctor. The text is available in several languages.

The flip up panel on the box shows off the features of the Gamer OSD (On Screen Display), as well is giving information about Company of Heroes: Opposing Fronts.

After opening the box you can see that it is partitioned off, with the EAH3870X2 securely packed into a foam block to eliminate any chance of damage. All of the accessories have been packed under the divider. The Quick Start Guide and software are kept up top.

The accessory package that comes with the EAH3870 X2 includes adapters to manage all of the connectivity options available with this card. Included are a DVI to HDMI adapter, two DVI to D-sub, one S-video to component, one crosslink Crossfire connector and a dual 4-pin molex to 6-pin PCI-E connector. Asus has sent a DVD disk holder, the Quick Start Guide and the driver, manual and Company of Heroes: Opposing Fronts full game discs.